This old house posed a big challenge for a new couple

The property had been vacant for eight years. Overgrown ivy obscured brick paving, shutters were falling off, and the portico was collapsing.

But it was on a charming street in the Yorkshire Historic District of Burlington City, and the corner house with two adjoining lots had space for a garden and off-street parking. It had an interesting story, too: According to local lore, it was a bordello during the last half of the 19th century.

The new owners, Bob Mott and Dennis Baker, had met in Hawaii and had been together for only a year when the Navy transferred Baker to New Jersey in 2014. Burlington City was a convenient commute for Baker, a petty officer assigned to Naval Weapons Station Earle in Colts Neck.

Would their nascent relationship survive the major renovation the property required?

Mott, 61, a contractor and interior designer, spent years remodeling homes in California and Hawaii. Baker, 45, is also handy. Still, the project was so physically taxing, "it's why I had hip surgery this winter," Mott says.

Hauling bathroom fixtures, including a big soaking tub, up a narrow staircase to the third-floor master suite was particularly grueling, Baker says.

Happily, the relationship endured the ordeal. Mott and Baker were married in Burlington City Hall in April 2015.

Though the original section of the house was built in the mid-18th century, the men chose a later Victorian style to honor the home's most notorious owner. Kitty Johnson, who lived in the house from 1837 until her death in 1883, was reputed to have operated a bordello there for some years after her husband died.

The new owners did not always agree on decor. "My tastes are more simplistic than Bob's," Baker says.

Initially, he disliked the vintage russet wallpaper in the master bedroom, and he still "hates" the charcoal striped paper Mott chose for the powder room.

Baker didn't object, though, to the cabbage rose Ralph Lauren paper in the family room, and he picked out exuberant purple-and-cream wallpaper for the guest bedroom.

The sleigh bed in the room belonged to Dennis. He acquired the ceramic bowl and pitcher in the master bedroom during his tour with the Navy in Italy. When he was on duty in Iraq, an Australian Army officer gave him the wide-brim hat now on the bureau.

End tables on either side of the four-poster bed are halves of a round table that was part of a "library suite" from an Italian monastery Mott purchased in California years ago. Other pieces include an ornately carved breakfront in the dining room and several chairs.

Chandeliers in the hall, dining room and parlor came from a shop in Lambertville. The parlor's red velvet settees were found in an antiques store in Morrisville.

Mott and Baker chose cherry cabinets, a subway-tile backsplash, and granite countertops for the kitchen. They installed acacia wood flooring throughout the first floor and up the staircase. Mott found the Persian stair runner on eBay.

Unlike dreary Addams Family Victorians, this home is bright and cheerful. Two carousel horses add whimsy. Bob detoured from the 19th century when he furnished his home office with an oversize poster advertising "the only sports car that matters" - his beloved 1999 Corvette.

Outside, Baker pulled up ivy and planted a Japanese maple next to the rebuilt portico over the side entrance to the house.

The 12-by-15-foot gazebo came from Big Lots. The red glass-and-crystal chandelier in the center broke when the gazebo collapsed during a snowstorm. Bob replaced broken parts with pieces from a chandelier he had stored in the basement. Baker, the orderly Navy man, rolls his eyes when reminded of that crammed-full space.

Still, he is as pleased with the refurbished house as Mott and continues to research its history. Recently, he located Kitty Johnson's burial site in a nearby cemetery.

"We plan to bring flowers to her grave," Mott says. "She would appreciate our setting her house to the way it should be."

Bob Mott and Dennis Baker's home will be on the City of Burlington Home and Garden Tour from 1 to 5 p.m., Saturday, May 21 (rain date: May 22). Advance tickets, $20; day of tour, $25. For information, call 609-387-9245.